1: to restore to consciousness or life; 2: to restore from a depressed, inactive, or unused state: bring back; 3: to renew in the mind or memory. (merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revive)
Have you ever been in a place in your life where you are just going through the motions? Every thing seems to be on auto-pilot. Every day appears to be a repeat of the one before. You feel disengaged as if life continues without your participation. You are just living without being fully alive. You want to wake up your slumbering soul before the circumstances of life sound the alarm and you find yourself in a world created through apathy.
I understand. I've been there.
If we are truly honest with ourselves we have all experienced a season (some longer than others) in life where our lives feel dry and lifeless. We long for someone or something to come along and touch our inner lives - to revive us! But who? Or what can revive us so that we can experience the "abundant life"?
Many things can stimulate and revive us briefly. They can be an experience, substance, or even a relationship. Unfortunately, far too often, we are revived temporarily just to be left empty, wanting more. Can we truly find something that will revive us and not leave us in the same state that we were in before we found it? The answer is simply yes.
Jesus said "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63 NKJ).
The Greek word for "gives life" is zoopoieo (don't ask me to pronounce it!). It is defined as "to cause to live, to make alive, give life by spiritual power to arouse and invigorate; to restore to life (sound familiar?); of the spirit, quickening as respects the spirit, endued with new and greater powers of life." I think you get the point. The Spirit gives life! Not just the regular, everyday, ho-hum life, but new and greater powers of life!
If this rings true for you, I invite you to join me on this expedition to experience this new and greater life. Spirit revive us!
Chris, that is some truth right there. You're exactly right when talking about parts of our lives becoming stagnant. If we choose to focus on the physical world, it's just a matter of time before we feel bland and dried out. We can search around for all kinds of fulfillment and life but at the end of the day (or short while after) we will be back to square one.
ReplyDeleteThe place we CAN find non-seasonal satisfaction, and ultimate fulfillment, lies beyond what our physical eyes can see. The spirit world is all around us, providing lifelong joy and fulfillment.
John